Dorsey Pulls Page From Montana

College - Game Day - Miami 27, Florida State 24

Miami's Sophomore Quarterback Drove The 'canes 68 Yards To Beat Florida State On Their Final Possession, Much Like His Idol Made A Habit Of Doing.

October 8, 2000|By Andrea Szulsteyn, Miami Bureau

MIAMI -- The game clock showed 1:37 in the University of Miami's most important game. The No. 7 Hurricanes trailed No. 1 Florida State 24-20, and it was up to a 19-year-old quarterback, with one start against a ranked team behind him, to lead the 'Canes down the field and to a winning score.

Improbable? Hardly. UM quarterback Ken Dorsey, an admirer of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana, took a page out of Montana's book and led the 'Canes to a 27-24 triumph on the sort of drives that make for legends. He marched the Hurricanes 68 yards in seven plays. Undaunted by the time running out or FSU's ferocious defenders, he found tight end Jeremy Shockey for a 13-yard, game-deciding touchdown.

Who said first-year quarterbacks don't win in their first starts against Florida State? "I knew we had 1:37 on the clock and two timeouts left," Dorsey said. "Seems easy to me because Coach [Butch] Davis puts 45 seconds on the clock and makes us go 80 yards [in practice]. I knew that if we threw completions and moved down the field, working our tight end, we would be successful."

Dorsey was more than successful. He was poised and confident in leading the Hurricanes to their first victory against FSU since 1994.

"To all the writers out there who said we'd lose this game because I was a sophomore, I love that," Dorsey said. "I hope they keep writing more of that."

Dorsey has been rewriting UM's record books. He set the school mark for most consecutive passes without an interception, breaking Gino Torretta's streak of 123. Dorsey's mark is 163, with no interceptions in 157 attempts this season.

Dorsey was 27-for-42 for 328 yards and two touchdowns, a career high for total yards. His offensive line protected him perfectly, allowing no sacks. In his short career, Dorsey has thrown for 21 touchdowns and been picked off twice.

"It's rare when a sophomore quarterback shows that type of courage," FSU cornerback Tay Cody said. "I mean, he drove his team almost 70 yards to win the game against what we think is one of the best defenses in the country. You can't give a guy anything but credit when he performs under that kind of pressure."

Dorsey failed in his first pressure start this season at Washington, a 34-29 loss where crowd noise clearly rattled him. He said he learned from that. Teammates never lost faith. "He's going to make a lot of money one day," running back James Jackson said. "I want to borrow some, that's all."